


(For You Are Mine) At Last

by mrs_leary (julie)



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2012-08-16
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:11:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/mrs_leary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fifth season is over, and Colin turns up on Bradley's doorstep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(For You Are Mine) At Last

♦

Colin had judged it to a nicety. It was the Monday morning after the weekend of the very last ever wrap party for _Merlin_. He’d made enough vague noises to Bradley about meeting up with him for a coffee to ensure that Bradley didn’t make other plans. Colin had discovered Eoin’s schedule, and knew the man would have to leave the house he shared with Bradley by ten, ten–ten at the latest, to get to his shoot. Physically, Colin and Bradley would have both sobered up enough after the Saturday night and Sunday morning celebrations, but emotionally they wouldn’t quite be moving on yet; they’d both be finely balanced between the wistful nostalgia and the dizzy relief of freedom. It would be perfect.

He strolled down Bradley’s street at about five to ten, and leaned nonchalantly against a tree on the other side of the road to wait. The October morning was crisp, so Colin pulled his beanie hat down a little snugger, and then shoved his hands in his coat pockets. His breath fogged a little, and he amused himself for a while trying to create shapes with it. That had been one of the fun things about smoking for _Parked:_ trying to learn how to blow smoke rings.

Eoin being Eoin finally appeared at ten–fifteen, slamming the door behind him and dashing down the front steps of the modest brick terrace house, with his head down, laden with a couple of holdalls full of gear. A few moments later he’d disappeared in the direction of the nearest Tube station, and the street grew quiet again.

Colin pushed himself back onto his feet and strolled diagonally across the road. His phone chimed to announce a text just as he got to the front door and knocked, which made him grin – and sure enough, when Bradley answered the door he had his phone in his hand, and he looked rather taken aback. ‘You’re here!’ Bradley said, punctuating this with a out–turned hand asking _What?_

‘I am that,’ Colin murmured. But he didn’t say anything else, just went with his forward momentum so that Bradley had to step aside to let him in – and when Bradley turned towards him after shutting the door, Colin was turning back towards Bradley, and it was just effortless then. Colin smoothly slid a hand around the man’s nape and his other hand reached for Bradley’s waist, while their motion naturally brought them together – and Colin Morgan was kissing Bradley James at last. _At last._

Bradley, bless him, was too surprised to respond, but by the time Colin was done then Bradley had probably managed to draw a conclusion or two. Though it was soon plain he didn’t know quite what to make of whatever conclusions they were. Bradley jammed a hand up into his hair, and let out a long breath with a confused sounding ‘Ah…’ 

But when Colin grinned at him with a hint of intent glinting in his eyes, it seemed Bradley couldn’t help but smile back. Just a little. Just enough. Colin took a step forward again, figuring he knew exactly how to follow up on that –

– which was when the door swung open again, and Eoin was suddenly crowding into them – ‘Bradley! Forgot my – Oh.’ He took the pair of them in with one long sweep of his knowing gaze, and grunted a ‘Huh.’ Reached a long arm behind Bradley to scoop something up from the hallstand, and then turned to go again, with a muttered, ‘Thank God, at fucking last!’

Bradley gaped a little at his retreating back, and grabbed at the door before it quite closed. ‘Eoin…?’

‘Later!’ came the call. ‘Have fun, guys!’ – and Colin imagined the man’s fond yet dismissive fling of his hand.

After a moment, Bradley seemed to realise he’d have to handle this on his own. ‘Right,’ he said once the door was closed. He was standing tall, and keeping what distance he could in the tiny entrance hall. ‘Well. As usual I’m the last to know what’s going on, I suppose.’

Colin didn’t have much of a response for that, so he just sank back against the wall, hands in his pockets again. He didn’t give an inch, mind. He gazed at Bradley, and he waited.

Bradley’s hand was wedged back in his hair, and though he couldn’t quite meet Colin’s eyes, he at least had the presence of mind to offer, ‘Coffee?’

Colin grinned, and dragged off his beanie hat. ‘Thought you’d never ask.’

♦

They were silent while the kettle heated. It started up pretty quickly, presumably because the water was still hot from last time. Once he’d spooned the coffee into the mugs, Bradley loitered near the kettle with his arms crossed, staring out the window, or putting his head back to gaze at the ceiling where it met the wall. Obviously trying to think things through or at least let them process of their own accord.

Eventually the kettle started boiling; Bradley flipped the switch before it was quite done, and poured the water. Added milk to his own, and then brought the mugs over. He sat down just around the corner from Colin, out of habit, or maybe trying to make the point that they were still friends. Probably. They were probably still friends.

Colin leaned in and took his mug in both hands, let the steam rise in his face. It would be too hot to drink for an inconveniently long time, but the scent itself was enough to stimulate. He remained silent.

Until at last Bradley asked, ‘What’s going on?’

‘You know what’s going on,’ Colin told him.

‘Uh – I don’t know that I do.’

‘Don’t know that I wanna talk about it. Just wanna get it done.’

‘Ah. And “it” would be…?’

Colin had shocked even himself with such a bald statement, but it was the truth, so he went with it. ‘I want to take you up to your bed, Bradley James, and fuck with you.’

Bradley went pale at this announcement, with two rather endearing patches of colour high on his cheekbones. ‘I see. Well, um… I don’t want to come off sounding like an utter girl about this, but don’t you think a little seduction and foreplay might serve your purpose better?’

‘We’ve had five fucking years of foreplay, Bradley.’

‘Not exactly _mutual_ , if I didn’t know about it.’

‘You knew, all right.’

The patches of colour grew and darkened. ‘Sometimes…’ Bradley said while gazing deep into his coffee mug, perhaps wanting to blame the flush on the heat of the coffee. Though he admitted, ‘Sometimes I did _wonder_ …’

‘Sometimes you were right, then.’

‘I thought it was my wayward imagination. You never said anything, you never _did_ anything…’ Bradley suddenly looked up, his glance sharp and shrewd. ‘But you had to wait, did you? Until we weren’t working together?’

‘Aye,’ breathed Colin.

‘And what makes you think that now I’ll just –’

Bradley’s words had stopped, and he was staring down at Colin’s forefinger, which was lightly tracing an asymmetric pattern on the back of Bradley’s hand where it rested on the table. They were both staring transfixed as Colin’s second finger joined the first, his touch a little heavier now, drawing an improbable knot as effective as any spell. When Bradley’s breath became audible, Colin stopped, and simply took that hand in his own.

‘Coffee,’ Bradley whispered hoarsely, turning towards his mug where it cooled. He didn’t get very far, though, as if the spell was pulling him in another direction entirely. ‘Kiss me again,’ he said, turning back towards Colin as if he simply couldn’t help himself.

Colin leaned forward to oblige, doing nothing more than holding the man’s hand, and kissing him as thoroughly as he knew how.

Bradley was almost panting once Colin was done, and couldn’t quite meet his gaze. Not that Bradley could take his own gaze off Colin, as it roamed around everything from Colin’s throat on down to his trainers. ‘So, uh…’ said Bradley. ‘So let’s consider, for the sake of argument, that that’s the seduction taken care of… What happens next?’

‘You come to bed with me,’ Colin said roughly. And he stood up, Bradley’s hand still in his.

‘I see…’ said Bradley, attempting to play it cool and clever. He was already well beyond that, though.

Bradley stood too. And when Colin tugged at his hand, Bradley stumbled past him and led the way up the stairs, his hand gripping Colin’s with a tight damp desperation.

♦

Colin had expected it to be good. He loved sex, and he always got a powerful charge from it. Always, no matter who he was with, or what they were doing, or if he was alone. But he’d had no idea just how The Bradley Factor would multiply that to something beyond his ken.

It wasn’t that Bradley was handsome or that his body was perfect, though these things were true and Colin’s sense of sight was overcome and greedy for more all at the same time. It wasn’t that Bradley’s every grunt and groan and gasp for breath was beautiful to Colin’s ears. Or that his unshowered scent was sweet wild pungency. Or that Colin’s exploratory fingertips found nothing that wasn’t as fine and smooth and strong as a tall pint o’ Guinness. Or that his kisses were espresso, and his skin was as exotic and strange as roast beef would be to a vegetarian, and lightly salted too, which kept Colin thirsting for more.

It wasn’t any of that. Colin wouldn’t have cared if Bradley were ugly, discordant, overripe, lumpy, swill. All of that was surface, and what mattered was underneath, inside, at his core. What mattered was that they fit together, him and Bradley, they fit together as perfectly in this as in everything else, whatever it had been right from those first days when they’d been edgy with the need to work each other out, when they’d been irritable with the inability to leave each other alone. Attraction of opposites, maybe. Or complementary halves. Yin and yang, light and dark.

God, and he was thinking like this, trying to grasp onto thought, when all they’d done so far was get naked, and lie down together, and press close, stretching tall from top to toe to touch at every single point they could, arms firm around each other, and kissing mouthily divinely, not just lips but tongues being bold, and teeth nibbling and gnawing…

‘What…’ said Bradley at last as he began to lose it, those blue eyes hazy now like a beautiful hot summer day. ‘What shall we –’

God, and the urge was so strong to _fuck_ , God he wanted to fuck, he didn’t care which way round, only that at last they should each be part of the other, indivisible – like yin and yang, yes, like the Taijitu symbol where each half contained an element of the other. Colin groaned _‘God…’_ his hand running down Bradley’s strong loins, down the promising swell of his rear, down the back of his thigh – Bradley moaned as if particularly tender there – Colin encouraging that thigh up and forward – 

– and when that leg obligingly curved round his waist, Colin rolled onto the man with a guttural groan, his hips already working his cock against Bradley’s – Bradley who arched his head back, his breath coming harsh now, and they clung to each other _hard_ , hard enough to bruise.

‘Is this –’ said Bradley. ‘Is this enough –’

And oh God of course it was, but Colin cried ‘No!’ in epic frustration.

‘Do it, then. _Do it!_ ’

Beyond incitement. How was he meant to –? ‘Oh Christ,’ Colin muttered, lost and distraught. But his hips never quit moving, and of course it was enough, any moment now they were both going to just _explode_ with it. And it was perfect, it was fucking _perfect_ , even though he impossibly wanted impossibly more.

‘Col –’

They hadn’t stopped for lube or even spit; they were damp with sweat, but of course that wasn’t enough; they were hot and hard rubbing up against each other, and it was the most exquisitely beautiful agony. 

‘Col…’ One of Bradley’s hands swept down to shape itself to Colin’s rear, and his other slid up around Colin’s nape and drew him down for a kiss, an odd moment of peace in the midst of a storm –

– and then Colin couldn’t hold back any longer. ‘Bradley,’ he warned, mouth to mouth. ‘Oh God… Oh _Christ!_ ’ It was like the tide had come in all at once, and inundated him. He clung to consciousness then, deathly afraid that he might lose all civility and hurt this man with his overwhelming _need_. 

But no, it was all right, he was coming, he was almost too far–gone to know it or feel it, but he was coming, it was over – and then Bradley was coming too, bucking up against him, quaking with it, spilling his spunk between them to mess in with Colin’s – and Colin let himself collapse for a moment once they were finally done, and then he would have shifted his weight off the man, except that Bradley tightened his arms around him and grunted a protest, and Colin sank down into darkness with a sigh.

♦

‘Are you staying, then?’ Bradley asked at some point later that afternoon, when they were lying there sore and spent and wrecked and completely unable to leave each other be. And he didn’t mean staying for dinner or the night, or even for the week.

Colin raised a brow, having had no plans or ideas beyond this point, or even this far, really. ‘D’you want me to?’

Bradley was contemplating something that had him frowning intently. ‘I was thinking about synergy, you know? About things that are better together than apart. I mean, together they’re greater than the sum of their whatsits, or whatever it is. You know what I’m talking about?’

‘Yin and yang,’ Colin agreed. ‘That’s us, is it?’

‘I was always rather afraid that it was, yes.’

‘Oh.’ Colin lay back with a defeated sigh.

But Bradley followed him over, and propped himself up on an elbow so they could talk properly, face to face. ‘You want to know when I stopped being afraid…?’

‘Yes,’ Colin said, hope sparking irresistibly within him, and then catching fire and running wild despite his best efforts to be reasonable.

‘When you _didn’t_ fuck me that first time. You really wanted to, didn’t you?’

‘ _God_ , yes.’

‘And I would have let you, and I’d never have blamed you for it. But you didn’t. And that’s when I knew.’

He hardly dared ask. ‘Knew what?’

‘That I want you to stay.’ Bradley grinned at him, reading Colin’s relief at this answer, which was all rather stupid really when it was obvious that things were starting to get A Mite Serious. ‘In fact,’ Bradley continued, lying down where he was, with his head tucked neatly in against Colin’s shoulder, ‘even if you don’t stay, you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me, because wherever you go I think I’ll come along too.’

‘I’m staying,’ Colin said roughly.

‘Good,’ said Bradley. And his arms wound strong about Colin, as the yang to his yin, the light to his dark, made him whole at last.

♦


End file.
